PINK PONY CLUB

FROM a neon-pink salt lake that looked like it belonged in the Barbie movie to an unconventional cattle ranch where bulls double as cowboys’ family pets, my trip with Le Boat was no ordinary cruise.

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Having boarded our vessel, the five-bedroom Horizon 5, in St Gilles, a gorgeous old town on the Rhone-Sete Canal, we glided off on a voyage of discovery.

I'd visited Camargue in the South of France before, but had never experienced it from the top deck of a self-drive riverboat, the water beneath glittering brightly as it reflected the sun.

It was tempting to lounge, watching white horses graze by the waterways as we dreamily cruised by, but with new things to see around every bend, there was more on my agenda than relaxing. At times the area reminded me of Carcassonne without the crowds, the Everglades without the alligators and France’s very own answer to Clarkson's Farm.

Although they're geographically close, the Camargue culture couldn't be more different to life on the nearby glitzy French Riviera.

First stop-off was at the Manade Saint Louis cattle ranch.

Bull-fighting is a tradition around here, but it’s a million miles from the bloodshed-fuelled clashes seen in Spain. Instead, in one version of the fight, bulls are goaded by men who pose as prey - but once the animal’s fight instinct kicks in, they race off, the animal in hot pursuit.

No sooner have they escaped than they head back to the centre of the ring to brave its fury again.

Fans go there to witness an adrenaline-pumping spectacle and fighters can earn £100,000 from a single event.

Although it’s a controversial sport, our tour guide later offered a different perspective: "Audiences are not coming to watch an animal die. They're coming to watch a man risk his life."

At the Manade Saint Louis, run by husband and wife team Jean-Claude and Karine Groul, who are third-generation bull farm breeders, it's not about the fight. Instead, visitors get an insight into the relationship between humans and animals.